Just back from an interesting lunchtime meeting of our A level and International Baccalaureate students of Economics. They have been competing in a share-trading competition organised by Old Mancunian Marc Duschenes, one time City trader and now Chief Executive of the Braemar Group, based in Hale. When he was at MGS (in the early 90s) Marc used the payphone by the Refectory to arrange his trades, using his father's account.


The present competition involved both simulated trading and writing a market report. The best entrants, Marc said, had achieved a standard that a stockbroker would have been proud of. Members of the winning team will have the opportunity to complete a week's paid work experience at Braemar.


An Old Manc a little older than Marc was at MGS yesterday. John Crawley, ex-Lancashire, England and Hampshire cricketer, has taken up his post as the Marlborough Association Director at Marlborough College. He was interested to look round school again, not having been here since we built our Sports Hall, extended the Art Department and introduced the new Junior Section in Bexwyke Lodge. We talked over how different schools follow very varied patterns with their networking, charitable fundraising and ex-pupil associations. I was reminded once again of how lucky we are at MGS to have been able to integrate these links through the Development Office. We have professional staff to manage our ex-pupils database, which is available to the Executive Committee of the Old Mancunians' Association and the Recorder of the Old Boys' Dinner. We also have weekly visits from Peter Ainsworth, the Secretary to The MGS Trust, so that funds raised through this office are passed promptly to the Trustees for investment.


Yesterday we all (Jane, Julie, Simon and I) worked late as 6 pm is the chosen time for our quarterly OMA Executive meetings. Our chairman, David Walton, took us pretty briskly through our wide-ranging business (reunion plans, 2015 forward planning, accounts, production of OM tie in silk not polyester) - grateful thanks to all (the professionals and the volunteer committee members) who give up their time to keep things ticking along.